Jaspersoft Studio: New Eclipse-Based Report Designer

Many Java developers require BI to enhance their applications and thus we wanted to be a partner and member of the foundation.

Jaspersoft recently made two exciting,
Eclipse-related announcements: they released version 1.0.0 of
their new open source report designer for JasperReports, and joined
the Eclipse Foundation as an official member. JAXenter spoke to
Mike Boyarski, Director of Product Marketing at Jaspersoft, about
these announcements, and their place in the Eclipse ecosystem.

JAXenter: You have just announced Jaspersoft
Studio. What technologies are at work, in this project?

Mike Boyarski: Jaspersoft re-built its report
design tool, called iReport on Netbeans, for the Eclipse
environment. The Java based tool allows application and
professional report developers to design highly formatted reports
that can then be viewed online or as a print out. The environment
is able to connect to a variety of data sources via JDBC and format
the data so that it can be easily read and consumed.

JAXenter: What will this project add, to the
Eclipse community?

Mike: Eclipse developers can build reports
using Jaspersoft Studio and include those within their application
or stored within the report repository called JasperReports Server.
Jaspersoft Studio combined with JasperReports Server, a stand alone
web application, extends the value of a report by rapidly
compiling, securing, and distributing to other users. Because the
reporting server is open source, Eclipse developers can now build
and manage their reports utilizing a 100% open source solution.
Currently developers using BiRT can only share or secure their
reports with a subscription to an Actuate proprietary reporting
server or by manually building as custom services.

JAXenter: What are your plans for future
releases of Jaspersoft Studio?

Mike: In the near term (next 3-4 months) we
plan to reach feature parity of our popular iReport tool. These
features include tighter integration with our reporting server
environment to simplify development with our server environment.
There are several productivity improvements and interactive
features planned to further enhance the iterative design process of
reports. Our roadmap link will be used to share our future
development plans.

JAXenter: Jaspersoft has just joined the
Eclipse Foundation. What influenced you, to become an official
member of the Eclipse Foundation, considering your open source
projects compete with Eclipse in some areas?

Mike: Eclipse is the de facto environment for
Java developers. Many Java developers require BI to enhance their
applications and thus we wanted to be a partner and member of the
foundation to solidify our commitment to this thriving community of
users. With our new support of the Eclipse framework, we also
wanted the option to let Eclipse developers know about us in the
various channels available through our membership status, simply as
a way to communicate the alternatives for reporting and BI for
application and professional report developers.

Mike Boyarski is Director of Product Marketing for Jaspersoft, the world’s most widely used business intelligence software. Mike has spent the majority of his 15 years in product management and marketing for enterprise software companies. Prior to Jaspersoft, Mike worked at Oracle helping drive the definition and adoption of Oracle’s application server and software appliances, along with Oracle’s On Demand service platform. Mike’s expertise is in database technologies, business intelligence, and data integration products.